Historical Lefties

Taylor & Krutwig – Generational Players

(St. Louis, MO) – Dodo birds, unicorns and historically great left-handers don’t come around that often. As this basketball season draws to a close, both the Ohio Valley and Missouri Valley Conferences have south-paws that have proven to be generational players.

Big win totals and great personal statistics have paved the way for Loyola’s Cameron Krutwig and Austin Peay’s Terry Taylor to place their names in history books of their individual programs and in these two great leagues.

Both players have amassed gawdy numbers and have proven to be solid campus leaders and well respected on their teams. While a lot of work has been done by these two seniors, they make dominating the opposition look easy.

Taylor and Krutwig have been automatic producers for four straight seasons.

Freshman of the Year

2018 found these generational players winning their respective league’s ‘Freshman of the Year’ award. Krutwig won out over some all-time great players. Indiana State’s Tyreke Key (a three-time all-conference player, and one of ISU’s all-time leading scorers) and Elijah Childs went on to have great careers in their own right, but the big lefty outdistanced them, Northern Iowa’s Tywhon Pickford and his teammate Lucas Williamson.

Krutwig was also a member of the third-team all-Valley team.

Taylor was the OVC’s top rookie edging someone you may have heard of. Ja Morant was NOT the league’s top freshman, Mr. Taylor was. While being named the top first-year player, Taylor landed on the OVC’s all-conference team. It would be his first of four such honors.

As undeveloped youngsters, Taylor and Krutwig were building notable resumes as generational players.

Krutwig was a starter during Loyola’s NCAA Tournament run to the 2018 Final Four.

More All-Conference Honors

Both players were first teamers on their respective league’s all-conference teams, the rest of their careers. While post season opportunities have eluded these stars since their freshmen seasons they have made impact.

During Taylor’s reign at APSU the Governors have won 76 games while losing just 50. They’ve been even better in league play, winning 49 of 74 games. The Govs played and won a game in the CollegeInsider.com Tournament during Taylor’s freshman season. That victory is APSU’s only post-season win since 2004.

Krutwig’s teams have won at least 20 games every season (94-35) and have won (or shared) three of four MVC regular season titles. That historic 2018 team won 32 games and Arch Madness for Loyola’s only tournament title since joining the Valley.

Of course no teams played post season games last year.

Generational Players with Generational Numbers

Taylor’s statistics blow you away. He is Austin Peay’s all-time leading scorer (2,488 points) and his name is littered all through the Governors’ record book. His 1,232 rebounds place him in APSU’s top ten and he is listed in the top ten of seven other APSU statistical categories.

His back-to-back ‘Player of the Year’ awards make him one of 15 OVC players to ever repeat. He is one of just three OVC student athletes to ever earn four straight all-conference nods. The last to achieve such honors was Eastern Kentucky’s Nick Mayo. He holds the OVC record for winning 17, career ‘Player of the Week‘ awards.

This season, Taylor is sixth nationally in scoring (21.7 ppg) and ninth in rebounding (11 per game). His 19 double-doubles is tops among all Division 1 players.

Krutiwig finally won the ‘Player of the Year’ award after finishing as a top three vote getter during the previous two seasons. He is one of three players in the Missouri Valley’s 114-year history to finish his career with at least 1,500 points, 800 rebounds and 300 assists. The other three are known by a single name. Oscar (Robertson), Larry (Bird) and Hersey (Hawkins) are the other three. Can you say ‘generational players’?

Krutwig is Loyola’s only player ranked in the program’s top ten in scoring (1,744), rebounding (894) and assists (353). He back-stops the nation’s stingiest defense and the 6’9 center has 26 steals this season and 104 for his career. Valley coaches realized they had to recruit bigger and more talented players with Krutwig on the scene.

Leaving a Leadership Mark

Austin Peay’s Matt Figger and Loyola’s Porter Moser gush when talking about their stars. While each head coach loves the production and the ‘winning plays’ made by their star left-handers, neither stops talking about work ethic, taking a leadership role and playing with integrity.

Figger has often told me how Taylor is his team’s hardest working player and despite all the accolades, Taylor remains humble and a team-first player. Moser raves about Krutwig’s willingness to take the younger Ramblers under his wing and teach them the nuances of college basketball.

Both players were mid-season finalists for the Lute Olson, Player of the Year award.

These generational players will be sorely missed and greatly celebrated for a long time.

Do Good